CoinDesk 20 Index: 3,793.38 +5.99%
Bitcoin (BTC): $102,632.86 +2.11%
Ether (ETH): $3,180.42 +2.5%
S&P 500: 6,012.28 -1.46%
Gold: $2,743.86 +0.35%
Nikkei 225: 39,016.87 -1.39%

BTC rose nearly 4% in the past 24 hours, easing losses from Monday which saw over $1 billion in futures liquidations and a decline of as much as 8.5% in the broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20). Breakthroughs from Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek led to steep falls in U.S. equity indexes, which bled through to the crypto market. The decline may have presented a buying opportunity, with the CD20 over 6.5% higher in the last 24 hours. XRP led gains with a surge of more than 9.5%, while SOL and DOGE have both enjoyed sizeable jumps as well.

Some traders have said DeepSeek's breakthrough was among a bunch of factors that could affect crypto markets in the near term. The most immediate may be Wednesday's U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announcement. Traders say they expect no indications of an interest-rate cut at the two-day FOMC meeting that starts today. The committee has typically influenced bitcoin prices as investors either prefer or move away from risk assets. "There are still choppy waters ahead as this week is heavy with macro data releases from U.S. agencies, including the FOMC," Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, told CoinDesk. "We remain optimistic for bitcoin in the long term as policies are shaping up to be very beneficial for the crypto industry's growth in the U.S. and abroad."

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet achieved the largest bitcoin-focused capital raise in Asian equity market history. The Tokyo-listed firm issued 21 million shares to raise around $745 million for bitcoin purchases. The issuance is part of the company's "Bitcoin-first, Bitcoin-only" strategy, which aligns with its plan to continue increasing its bitcoin holdings amidst the yen's devaluation and the cryptocurrency's all-time high. The stock acquisition rights were issued at 363 yen per unit ($2.33) and have adjustable exercise prices based on market value. Metaplanet is the 15th-largest bitcoin holder among publicly traded companies, with 1,762 BTC. It closed 3% higher on the day, and its shares are up 16% year-to-date.

Short-term bitcoin holders exited the market at a loss Monday as tumbling prices also saw derivative traders throw in the towel, leading to a significant decline in open futures bets on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).

Short-term holders sent over 21,000 BTC ($2.2 billion) to exchanges at a loss as the largest cryptocurrency fell as much as 4.7%, the most in two weeks, according to CoinDesk Indexes pricing.

The transfer to exchanges, often a precursor to sales, was the second-biggest this month and may reflect that purchasers who'd bought when the price was near record highs around $108,000 toward the start of the year were spooked by the sudden slide back into the five digits.

These addresses tend to be sensitive to price gyrations and often succumb when prices slide.

The de-risking also happened on the CME, which saw the biggest notional drop in open interest (OI) alongside a double-digit slide in Nvidia. Notional bitcoin OI fell a record $2.4 billion (17,000 in BTC terms), driving the basis lower, according to Glassnode data.

Legal Notice

- Omkar Godbole